Stare vs Essere Flashcards
Stare: to be, stay, stand
In general stare indicates health, location and appearances. It is also used in a good number of idiomatic expressions and with the present continuous tense
Stare: location
In this case, stare means rimanere (to remain or to stay in English).
Oggi sto a casa – I’m staying home today
Stare: health
How are you doing? Im good, im bad, im better
come stai? – How’re you?
sto bene – I’m good
sto male – I’m not good
sto meglio – I’m better
Stare: appearance
Stare bene and stare male mean that something (e.g. a piece of clothing) looks great on you or not. In English you would say “it suits me/you, etc”.
Questa giacca mi sta benissimo – this jacket looks great on me!
Quel capello ti sta male – that hat does not suit you
Stare: Idioms
Idioms
Stare means to be in a variety of idiomatic expressions, as in the following examples:
Stare in piedi – to be standing/to stand
Stare seduto – to be seated
Stare zitto/a – to be quiet
Stare attento – to pay attention
Stare calmo – to stay calm
Stare a cuore – to have at heart
Stare con – to be in a relationship with someone
Stare vs Essere
In some of the above expressions, stare and essere are interchangeable. There is a subtle difference between them, though. Essere states a quality or a statement, while stare implies a voluntariness in the action described.
sono in piedi – I stand / sto in piedi – I voluntarily stand
sono seduto – I’m seated / sto seduto – I’m voluntarily seated
sei calmo – you are calm person (quality) / stai calmo! – please, try to stay calm (voluntarily)
Stare: The Present Continuous
The present continuous describes an action that is happening at the moment that you speak, right now. The present continuous in Italian is expressed by the present tense of the verb stare plus the gerund.
Sto cucinando – I am cooking
Sto parlando al telefono – I am on the phone with Maira
Stare + Per + Infinitive
When stare appears in combination with per and an infinitive, it describes an action that will happen in the near future.
La lezione sta per finire – the lesson is about to finish
Sto per uscire – I am leaving at any moment
When to use stare vs essere
In Italian, there are two verbs that have just one equivalent in English: stare and essere. They are not interchangeable, though.
The good news is that in 95% of the cases, the verb to use is essere. So, when in doubt, use essere! However, there are cases where use stare is expected and mandatory.
How to use Essere: be, being, to be
You should use essere to talk about:
yourself and your nationality: sono Serena e sono italiana
your job: sono un’insegnante di italiano per stranieri
origins: sono di Milano
your physical appearance and personality: sono alta e sono simpatica
Essere: the state of being
Essere also indicates the state of being and is used to:
describe locations: Roma è una bella città.
describe objects: la mia casa è grande e luminosa.
locate objects: dove è la mia borsa? E‘ sulla sedia
Essere + ci
Essere is also widely used in combination with “ci” in the verb esserci (c’è/ci sono, in English, there is/there are). Esserci states the existence of someone or something.
C’è un bambino nuovo a scuola – there is a new kid in the school
Ci sono quattro sedie in cucina – there are four chairs in the kitchen
Essere conjugated present
Sono
Sei
È
Siamo
Siete
Sono
Essere conjugated present perfect
Sono stato/a
Sei stato/a
È stato/a
Siamo stati/e
Siete stati/e
Sono stati/è
Essere conjugated: Imperfect
Ero
Eri
Era
Eravamo
Eravate
Erano
